What Could Have Been
by ArtificialRangerLiuria
Summary: AU inspired by concept art in Hyrule Historia. Link takes the weight of the world upon his shoulders as he sails alone across a vast, merciless ocean. After months of searching, he finds the one for whom he and every fiend on the sea has been searching. And he doesn't plan to let her go.


**Little warning for OOC Link, who is still courageous, kind, and innocent, but hasn't dealt with life's trials nearly as well as his canon counterpart.**

* * *

No one ever visited their little, out-of-the-way island to the far east. They had managed to live in managed to live in peace and solitude for years since they landed, and it was for this reason that it was such a peculiar instance when a small boat drifted up to the island's shore a ways down on the beach.

The gruff old man poking meaningfully at a modest brambled cooking fire eyed the craft darkly. "They're here."

After a defined period of silence and waiting, a person, no more than a boy, stalked up to the campsite, staring at the elder over the delicate flames.

Taking his time contemplating a greeting, the man eventually barked out, "What do you want, boy? This is my island."

"I'm looking for someone." The boy answered with a steely expression.

"Oh? And what makes you think they'd be here?"

"I haven't checked here yet."

"Boy, no one's been here in over a decade. Whoever you're looking for isn't here." The man answered back venomously. Before the child could reply, a girl emerged from the small wooden house that stood behind the camp.

"Hey, old man, what's going on?" She asked warily, golden hair rustling slightly in the breeze.

"Get back inside!" The elder snapped, making her flinch. She seemed ready to protest, until she locked eyes with strange foreign boy, those snakelike eyes boring into her. With not so much as a gasp, she hastily receded into the house.

"Get out of here, boy. You're not welcome." The old man spat.

The boy glared at him, unmoving.

"I said go on."

After a few more tense moments, the child turned and stalked back down the sandy path from whence he came.

* * *

She awoke to the sounds of tapping against her window's mosquito screen. Warily, she climbed onto her knees and opened the wood panels to meet the intense face of the boy she saw earlier. In his right hand was a mound of pebbles.

"Who are you?" She demanded, caught off guard.

"I need to talk to you." He said.

"Why? Do I know you?!"

"Come outside."

"You're crazy!" She made a mental note to quiet down, as her excitement was getting the better of her. "I'm not even dressed!"

"So get dressed. Come out here." He appeared unfazed by her suspicion.

She stared at him as if he had three heads, but his gaze made her uneasy. Finally, she yielded. "Fine… okay. Wait."

Swinging her window panels shut, she scurried to throw some presentable clothes on, ran her fingers through her snarled hair, and eyed a hand-me-down cutlass sitting on her dresser.

The cautious emerged through a back door and walked around to the left side of the house where the boy was waiting. The moment their eyes met, she rushed at him, quickly and quietly, attempting to stab him in the stomach. Somehow, though, her blow didn't land, and he shoved her away. Without assessment, she charged again, only to have the wind knocked out of her by a blow from the blunt side of his sword. She didn't even have time to kick herself for not noticing the blatantly obvious blade sheathed on his back earlier before he wrestled her to the ground, ripping the cutlass out of her hand and tossing it out of reach. The girl immediately tried to scream, but his hand pressing against her mouth muffled the sound. The more noise she tried to make, the harder he pressed his weight into her jaw, and the more pathetic she sounded.

That was one thing her pride would not allow.

Falling silent, the conquered girl glared at the boy who rendered her helpless.

"… Are you going to stay quiet now?"

The question surprised his prisoner. The boy hesitantly lifted his hand, before eyeing the strands of hair that had fallen away from the sides of her face. Staring intently, he blinked. "Long ears…"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The girl asked uncomfortably.

The boy realized he was still pinning her, and slowly lifted his weight, eyeing her nervously. The moment he did, however, she jumped at him once more. The sudden move almost caught him off guard. Almost.

He swiftly rose to his feet and sidestepped, turning to grab her mid-lunge. He held her from behind and pressed the razor edge of his sword against her neck. "Why are you being so difficult?" he snarled, irritation hitting its peak.

She swiveled her neck as far back as she could to stare defiantly back at him. "Who are you?!"

"That isn't important." He replied coldly as he cautiously snaked his hand down her right arm. Lifting her hand up to eye level, he beheld a curious glowing mark that made his eyes widen. "This… is it…" He marveled.

"S-stop it! Let… go!" The girl struggled. Her captor obliged, but once she spun around to face him, he took firm hold of her shoulders. "You. You must come with me."

"And why should I do that?" She asked incredulously, gazing down at her hand. She'd been told never to let anyone see that, and boy did she royally screw up. "You see this, and all of a sudden you want to take me away?"

"You're not safe here."

"And I'd be safer with you?!" She demanded, exacerbated by the absurdity of it all.

He nodded.

"You really are crazy!"

The boy adopted an expression similar to disappointment. "… So you don't believe me."

She crossed her arms. "Of course not. I have no idea what you're going on about. You haven't even told me anything!"

Sighing, he let go of her shoulders. "Okay. I'll tell you…" He looked sideways, seeming vaguely self-conscious all of a sudden. "I… there's something important that I need to do. A… person… they're bad, and I… need to stop them before they hurt anyone… else."

The girl looked utterly unconvinced. "So, that's it? There's this big bad person who hurts people and you want to be the hero who saves everyone?" Smiling sarcastically, she waved her hand. "I understand your plight, but I really don't see how any of this has to do with me."

"That person is looking for you." The boy said, eyes silently imploring. "They are going to come after you when they find you."

The girl seemed to sober a bit. Lowering her arms to rest by her sides, she blinked slowly. "But… why me? I never did anything…" Her eyes lowered to her right hand again.

The boy slowly enclosed the hand in his own two, and lifted it between them, giving her a meaningful look.

She pulled out of his grasp. "Even if that's so… words are cheap. How can you prove any of this?"

He stared, with imploring eyes. Finally, he lowered his gaze in defeat. "I… can't."

She held back the urge to laugh. "You can't." She reiterated venomously.

"But I…" he stammered, searching. His eyes flew up to her, looking suddenly dire. She blinked, caught off guard. "I can… show you."

The girl furrowed her brow suspiciously. "And how will you do that?"

He took her hand urgently. "Come with me."

"No!" She jerked her hand away, but his grip simply slid to her wrist. "You can't even prove any of this to me, yet you still expect me to follow you into… whatever is out there?" She accused, flicking her chin in reference to the sea gently lapping against the horizon.

The boy stared at her hard. "There are people out there."

She paused, surprised despite the statement's obviousness—of _course_ there were people out there, so why had she thought otherwise—but retorted quickly, "That's not what I meant! My point still stands!"

He continued to stare, emotions plainly broadcast despite the wall she knew he was trying to keep intact, and she now how many times she'd already hurt his feelings. He seemed strangely sensitive for such a hard kid.

Slowly, his gaze descended, and he looked truly dejected—no, _rejected._

The girl drew her lips into a pout and stared, waiting for some kind of valid explanation. She refused to feel sympathy for this boy. Well, she certainly hoped she _looked_ like she refused to.

His demeanor didn't brighten, even when, after a minute or so, he gingerly pulled a palm-sized stone from his pocket.

The girl gaped in horror.

"Wh-where did you get that?!" she demanded, much too loud, as the boy lifted the stone into view. The moonlight glinted off its translucent azure surface, and the cord attached to it wavered slightly in the wind.

He eyed the stone, then her. He said nothing.

She stepped closer, a sense of desperation growing in her chest. "H…" she breathed. " _How_ do you have that?" Seeing that he was in no hurry to answer, she dug impatiently into her pocket, removing a similar jewel and shoving it in front of him. "I always keep it with me," she amended, for some reason feeling the need to explain why she grabbed such a trinket only to meet some random stranger in the middle of the night. "It's special."

The boy gently raised his own artifact to hers, and the stones resonated, glowing softly in response to each other's presence.

The girl jerked hers away suddenly, and he brought his down to inspect thoughtfully. "Connection…" he murmured, sounding moved by the odd occurrence. Snapping his gaze back up to her, his eyes were now wider, more expectant—almost catlike, she mused, and would have laughed in any other situation.

Swallowing her thoughts, she begged him for _something_ with her eyes, something to go on, something to believe in. "Who are you?"

"I am the person who will protect you."


End file.
